Latest news with #SamJohnson
RNZ News
20-07-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Government grants $50,000 to Student Volunteer Army for Nelson Tasman clean-up
Minister Meager is pictured with SVA founder Sam Johnson. Photo: Supplied A one-off $50,000 grant has been given to the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) to support youth volunteers in the Nelson Tasman clean-up, after two floods in two weeks hammered the region. Communities were facing millions of dollars worth of damage to roading infrastructure, farmland and properties. The grant will pay for region-wide activities over the next four-to-six weeks based on requests by those affected. Youth Minister James Meager said SVA's volunteers would be of "enormous" benefit to the communities . "Young people are ready and willing to get involved and support communities badly affected by recent flooding events. This region has been hit hard twice in the past fortnight, and these volunteers will offer valuable assistance while taking part in a youth development opportunity. "The youth volunteers that participate will be appropriately supervised and have access to mentoring and guidance to support their learning and development while doing this voluntary work." Image from Defence Force helicopter showing the Lower Waimea River area after Nelson floods. Photo: Tim Cuff / POOL SVA Founder Sam Johnson said involving young people in disaster response and recovery was "always a good idea". "They're fit, energetic and like to help. It also provides them the opportunity to learn first-hand about the complex issues extreme weather present." The SVA had provided assistance to 50 properties so far, Johnson said. SVA Founder Sam Johnson says the Student Volunteer Army has provided assistance to 50 properties so far. Photo: Supplied "I want to thank those who have helped enormously with the region's recovery efforts so far. "I encourage all young people who have seen the devastation and want to help to reach out to the organisation," he said. The funding was for volunteers aged between 12 and 24. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Shocking post-mortem update on the Coonabarabran boys found dead in their grandmother's home
The case of a woman accused of murdering her young grandsons in their rural home has been briefly heard in court. Prosecutors are still waiting for post-mortem results in the case of a woman accused of murdering her two young grandsons in their rural home. Kathleen Joyce Heggs, 66, is facing two counts of domestic violence murder over the deaths of Max and Sam Johnson, aged seven and six. The brothers were found dead in their home on the outskirts of Coonabarabran, in north-west NSW, on the afternoon of May 5. Police will allege that Heggs drugged the boys before smothering them while they were asleep in separate bedrooms. It's also alleged an autopsy found traces of a prescription medication in the boys' systems. Heggs' case was briefly mentioned in Dubbo Local Court on Thursday morning, but she was not required to appear via audio-video link from Silverwater jail. Solicitor Kathleen O'Keeffe, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the brief of evidence was not yet complete. 'There are a few things outstanding, the most crucial though is the post-mortem,' Ms O'Keeffe told the court. Magistrate Margaret Quinn adjourned the matter until September, noting prosecutors have a November deadline to serve the brief of evidence. During a previous mention in July, Heggs' solicitor Christopher Ford said her defence would relate to mental health. 'This is going to be a question of my client's mental health at the time of the offences,' Mr Ford said. Heggs was the sole carer for the boys and the family had moved from the NSW Central Coast to Coonabarabran about a year before the alleged murders. Two junior police officers broke into their house on a semi-rural property after a message sent to the communities and justice department triggered an emergency response. They found the boys' bodies in their bedrooms. Heggs, their maternal grandmother, had harmed herself and was arrested and taken to a mental health unit at Orange hospital before being transferred to the Sydney prison. Charge sheets before the court alleged she may have killed the boys as early as 10.30am on May 5. Police have previously said there were no weapons involved in the alleged murders. The boys' deaths shook Coonabarabran, where they went to the local primary school and attended karate classes. Community members held a candlelight vigil in a park by the Castlereagh River, where they planted two trees in the boys' honour and displayed the yellow karate belts they were due to receive. Heggs' case will return to court on September 4. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Class gives UND students a chance to chase storms, get experiential learning
Jun. 18—GRAND FORKS — The first day of storm chasing for the University of North Dakota's storm experience class featured a weather phenomenon that would be one of the key memories for the students and professor. In Colorado, the 22 members of the multi-state trip watched a tornado touch the earth. It was a favorite moment for several of the storm chasing students. Sam Johnson, in his third year at UND studying atmospheric sciences, said it was his first time seeing a tornado in person, and though he wouldn't describe it as exactly "world changing," it was along those lines for him. "You hear stories about how powerful and destructive they are, and there's one right in front of you," he said. "It's really cool." The storm experience class, held during the last two weeks of May, started with two days of instruction and travel before chasing. In the two vans that went as far as Texas were four teaching assistants who also served as drivers; 18 students; Montana Etten-Bohm, an assistant professor of atmospheric sciences and the professor for the course; and Jake Mulholland, a professor who led the class last year. The class offered the chance for experiential learning, Etten-Bohm said, teaching the students an equivalent of a 16-week class in two weeks of real-life experience. Along with the tornado sighting, the class visited different atmospheric research facilities, toured a facility for developing new technologies on a weather research plane, and toured the plane itself. The students, gathered into different groups, took time bonding and stopped at a teaching assistant's house for a meal. The students also got to meet up with other storm chasers on a day in Texas, tracking the only storm in the state as part of ICECHIP (In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Haile In the Plains). Brenden Marto, a senior double majoring in commercial aviation and air traffic management, said that was one of his favorite days. There were more than 50 cars stopped at a truck stop, all following the storm. "My little kid dream of wanting to be a storm chaser was kind of all coming true when I'm walking through this parking lot and seeing all these cars that I've known for years, but never seen in person up close and live," he said. The students were split into three groups that rotated through three kinds of teams: logistics, social media and forecasting. The logistics team focused on finding places to eat and sleep while on the road; the social media team posted the goings-on of the trip online; and the forecasting team tracked the weather and decided where the class would go. "It's really rewarding when you do all this timing and take all these considerations into effect and have to give a forecast in the morning," Marto said. "And everybody has to agree with you on where you guys want to go for the day." Etten-Bohm believes the logistics team was underappreciated, as its responsibility was finding hotels that weren't expensive, but still quality, as well as finding where to eat and get fuel. Etten-Bohm had been on the previous year's trip more as an observer, which she said was beneficial to her being the instructor this year. Her top priority was safety, but she still wanted to get the students into weather situations, she said. One thing that stood out to her was the number of students who attended who weren't majoring in atmospheric sciences. "One thing that makes this trip and this class more unique than other classes out there, not just at UND but other similar storm chasing classes out there, is that the predominant majority of our students that go on this trip are atmospheric sciences minors," she said. "They're not majoring in atmospheric sciences. ... They still want to go and want to learn and have this really unique and cool experience. I think, too, it also motivates them to be more involved in atmospheric sciences. ... I think this is one of the benefits of this class — to help students get more engaged in meteorology." Sophomore Sophia Barton, who has been studying commercial aviation, said she might be changing her major or adding on the atmospheric sciences major following the class. "A lot of the people, especially the teaching assistants, they major in atmospheric sciences, and it brings a lot of different perspectives on you," she said. "They were telling me about it, and there's one person who actually does fly and does atmospheric sciences, who encouraged me to do both because I knew it'd be possible to do it." Some of the students said the members of the group were mostly strangers to them, but by the end of the trip, they had all become close. Colin Gilley, who will be going into his senior year in the fall studying commercial aviation, minoring in atmospheric sciences and specializing in aviation safety, said he was nervous at first, but by the end of the trip, it felt like being with co-workers rather than strangers. Connection was part of the trip, along with the knowledge portion, he said, and he still spends time with those he was with. "Some of the people that were in my group, we've been going out and hanging out after we do our class work, or start studying together," he said. Joslyn Sutton, a sophomore majoring in air traffic management and minoring in meteorology and space studies, said her mom encouraged her to go on the trip. Her biggest takeaway from the class is "just do it," which she encourages others to do who might be interested in taking the class. "Just do the thing," she said. "I was nervous. ... At the end, we were all hugging like, 'Man, I don't want to leave this group.' It fostered such a great experience for all of us."
The Sun
08-06-2025
- The Sun
Harrowing new details revealed in autopsy report after grandma accused of murdering two grandsons in their rural home
TWO children found dead in their rural home were allegedly drugged before being smothered, an autopsy has revealed. Aussie brothers Max, 6, and Sam Johnson, 7, were found dead on May 5 - with their grandma arrested at the scene. 2 2 A post-mortem examination has found traces of prescription drugs in the boys' systems, according to the Daily Telegraph. Police allege their grandma, Kathleen Heggs, 66, gave her grandsons the medications before suffocating them with a pillow. Heggs allegedly sent a text to authorities saying the two boys were dead and that she planned to take her own life. When cops arrived at the scene, they found the boys dead in separate rooms and Heggs with self-inflicted injuries. She was arrested and taken to the mental health unit at Orange Hospital before being transferred into custody. On May 21, Heggs was charged with two counts of domestic violence murder. The siblings were reportedly sleeping when the alleged murders occurred. Heggs, the sole carer for the boys, moved with them over a year ago to a home on the outskirts of Coonabarabran in rural New South Wales. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the move was prompted after the woman "witnessed an incident involving her family too graphic to publish details of, and became known to police as a victim of crime". The boys' dad told the Daily Telegraph that he and his partner had trusted Heggs to care for the children, as they were both struggling with mental health issues. The couple had not seen the children for five years before their deaths. "This is not how we were meant to get them back," he said. "We are completely broken... but those boys deserve a good send off, and that's what we are going to give them." The boys will be buried wearing their karate uniforms, each with a yellow belt they were due to earn the same week their lives were tragically cut short. A family friend, who has a son the same age as the boys, said he would see them at karate lessons, football matches and school. He said there were no clear signs the family was struggling, describing Heggs as a "beautiful lady" and the boys as "cute little kids, full of energy". He said locals have been really hard-hit by the news. "This is a tragedy, and it's affecting so many. Petty crime happens and that, but it's a very safe community, we don't have problems like the cities." It comes as investigators found human remains on Friday in the search for Aussie teen Pheobe Bishop, who vanished three weeks ago. Pheobe's two housemates James Wood and Tanika Bromley were charged with murder on Thursday, along with two counts of interfering with a corpse.
Daily Mail
08-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Bombshell new details revealed after two young boys found dead in their grandmother's house - rocking a regional Aussie community to its core
Two young boys found dead on a country NSW property had allegedly been drugged before they were smothered, an autopsy has revealed. Max and Sam Johnson, aged six and seven, were discovered in their Coonabarabran home, in northwest NSW, on May 5. Their grandmother Kathleen Heggs, 66, was subsequently charged with their murder. Police have now revealed a post-mortem examination carried out on the two boys' bodies found traces of a prescription medication in their systems, according to the Daily Telegraph. Police will allege Ms Heggs gave her young grandsons the medications before suffocating them with a pillow. The brothers were asleep in separate bedrooms of Ms Heggs' rural property when the alleged murders took place. Max and Sam's biological parents Troy and Samantha Johnson are making final plans for their sons' funeral this week, which is to be held in Port Stephens. Ms Heggs was the sole carer for the two boys and they had moved from near Port Stephens to Coonabarabran about a year ago. Mr and Mrs Johnson had not seen the boys for five years prior to their deaths. The boys' father revealed he and his wife decided to let Ms Heggs take care of their sons as they had been struggling with mental health issues. 'This is not how we were meant to get them back,' Mr Johnson said. 'We are completely broken... but those boys deserve a good send off, and that's what we are going to give them.' Mr Johnson said he was grateful to Coonabarabran locals for sharing their happy memories of his sons. The boys will be buried in their karate uniforms, along with the yellow belts they were set to receive the week they were allegedly killed. Last month, police raced to the Coonabarabran property after Ms Heggs allegedly sent a text message to the boys' school to say her the two boys were dead and she intended to take her own life. After arriving at the farm, police forced their way into the home and found the boys' bodies in different rooms and the woman suffering self-inflicted injuries. Ms Heggs was treated in a mental health facility for several days following the boys' death before being charged with two counts of murder. Tragically, the devastated grandfather of the boys told Daily Mail Australia he only discovered that his grandsons were dead when he heard it on the news. 'I had to find out off the news about what happened to them,' he said. He also said he was upset pictures of the boys had been circulated through the media. 'The photos should never have been released - because they were minors - that was wrong and it has been very upsetting.' Ms Heggs has not entered pleas and she will front court on July 10. NSW Police have been contacted for comment.
